Quote:
Originally Posted by francistexas
I just going to poke into this thread for one moment. I'm curious to see what people have to think about this, and want to invoke a conversation about it.
I personally love the air of competitions. A huge set of bleachers/arena seating full of chanting and cheering team members while robots go at it under the field lighting is what defines a great event for me. Being a driver, I don't get to be up in the stands with my team, however I do get to stare into the masses while teams with students you've never met before cheer for your alliance to take the victory. That's definitely one thing that makes FIRST so different from any other organization in my opinion. With Michigan going from three regional events this year to an astounding eight will either stretch the wallet of FIRST, or they'll have to slightly dumb down the quality of the event. Now I've been in FIRST for only a year now, but I don't want to see other students miss what I've gotten to experience.
I don't have a clue how many teams the state of Michigan has, or even how many rookie teams it will have this coming season, but something tells me that each of those district events won't have the average fifty or so teams that current regionals have. Having that many teams adds depth, along with other things. I just wouldn't enjoy an event with fewer teams as I would one with fifty or more. I could bring up other points, but I'm going to stop and see what you all can take out of what I've written so far.
I just want to see what you all feel about the possible fact that these events may be less of an experience than that of current events. Again, I'm simply looking at it through the eyes of someone who doesn't want other students to miss out on what I've had. Is a drop in quality really worth bringing in more teams?
[Disclaimer: I've probably over-written this, thus making my point hard to understand. If you don't wish to try and figure out what I mean, by all means ignore this.  ] |
I see what you're talking about. I imagine to hold this many events, they'll have to find some way to cut down costs. Where, we don't know yet. And like you said, the experience will be different. I'm very shaky on the whole idea, but let's see what happens.
Now for my question. If this were adapted for all of FIRST, the way I understand it teams would have to stay in state. Correct me if I'm wrong. One thing that I enjoy about our team is that we travel to a far away regional. Now traveling isn't the only reason I'm here, but it certainly is a big bonus. It's nice to get away from home and to see other places.